AAA The Auto Club Group has announced that two hotels and one restaurant has earned the prestigious Four Diamond Award in Chattanooga. The AAA/CAA Four and Five Diamond Ratings are the travel authority’s highest designations for hotels and restaurants.
Four Diamond lodgings are refined and stylish with upscale physical attributes.
They offer guests extensive amenities and a wide range of services. Area lodgings receiving the AAA/CAA Four or Five Diamond Rating again for 2012 include: The Chattanoogan and The Mayor’s Mansion Inn.
Four Diamond restaurants provide a distinctive fine dining experience. They feature highly creative chefs, complex menus, fresh top-quality ingredients and knowledgeable staff. The Chattanooga area restaurant receiving the AAA/CAA Four Diamond Rating for 2012 is: St. Johns Restaurant, at 1278 Market Street.
Representing the upper echelon of the hospitality industry, the 2,245 AAA/CAA Four Diamond and 179 Five Diamond establishments make up just 3.8 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, of the total 59,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated lodgings and restaurants throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
“Four Diamond hotels and restaurants are committed to providing every guest with a high level of personalized service in comfortable, luxurious surroundings,” said Sheena Meyer, Chattanooga Membership sales manager. “To achieve and maintain this level of hospitality is a significant accomplishment. We are proud to recognize these dedicated local establishments with the Four Diamond Rating.”
AAA’s professional inspectors, ideally positioned to observe emerging hospitality trends, noted changes in store for 2012. For hotels, a prevalent trend is creating a home-away-from-home environment, according to AAA inspectors. Another growth area is “smarter” hotel rooms that learn guests’ habits as they use a central remote to control everything from heating and air conditioning to lights, curtains, music and wakeup calls. In the restaurant industry, prevailing themes include more natural ingredients, locally sourced foods and healthier meal options. These include rustic fare — simple dishes with fresh ingredients — made in-house and new twists on comfort foods such as a “dusting” of dried, powdered fruits or vegetables to add texture and flavor, rather than heavy sauces.
AAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotel and restaurant listings can be found in the AAA TourBook® guides available at AAA and CAA offices across the continent. They can be accessed online at AAA.com/Travel and through downloadable eTourBookSM guides at AAA.com/ebooks. Smartphone users can locate Diamond Rated establishments using the free AAA TripTik Mobile app or AAA Mobile Web at AAA.com/mobile.
Continuing a 75-year tradition, AAA’s professionally trained inspectors use published guidelines to conduct unannounced property evaluations. AAA rates more properties than any other rating entity and is the only rating system that covers the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. It is one of only two that conduct physical, on-site evaluations, assigning AAA/CAA Approved lodgings and restaurants One to Five AAA Diamonds.
As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 53 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. Contact Sheena Meyer at the local Chattanooga AAA office at 490-2000, ext. 2237.